Alabama State Rep Reintroduces Castration Bill For Criminal Offenders

Alabama legislator Steve Hurst (pictured) is reintroducing a bill to legalize the castration of convicted sex child sex offenders whose victims were under the age of 12, according to the Florence Times Daily.

The castration bill, which Hurst is pushing for the 2014 legislative season, did not get committee backers when he previously rallied for it this year. Under the proposed legislation, convicted child sex crime offenders aged 21 and over would get castrated before being released from prison. Hurst also feels that the cost of the procedure should be covered by the offenders themselves, not the state.

The use of chemical castration is a controversial topic and the process has been used in various forms, either forcibly as a sentence or as a way for offenders to reduce their jail time in several countries including Argentina, Australia and Israel. Amnesty International has deemed the practice “inhumane.”

Chemical castration involves the administration of medication via injection or tablets. The process removes sexual feelings and thereby makes a person incapable of engaging in sexual acts. The effects of chemical castration can wear off once a person stops taking the drug.

Currently, there are nine states–California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin that already have some versions of chemical castration in their law books. The frequency of how often this form of punishment is practiced varies from state to state.